Tomorrow is my 23rd birthday. I'm not excited.
Is it cliched to say that I've reach a point in my life where my birthday is just another day out of the year? I've pretty much reached every milestone that one can achieve by merely surviving another year. I got my learner's permit, then my driver's license, then I could vote, then I could buy alcohol, and now there's nothing but the ability to rent a car at 25 and to run for President at 35. While many other occasions such as Christmas and Halloween morph into things that can be enjoyed by adults as one ages, I am of the mind that birthdays are much better in their youthful form.
Normally I'm thrilled by any excuse to bake something delicious, but I'm not even sure I want to make a cake. Alton Brown is currently on TV trying to convince me otherwise.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
On Holiday
So tomorrow my parents are off to Florida for the week. They're gonna spend time on the beach, soaking up the rays on the Gulf coast, dine out and do all the things that grown-ups do on grown-up vacations. It all sounds dreadfully boring to me.
Maybe it comes from having lived down the road from the beach my entire life, but I cannot understand the allure of going somewhere where all there is to do is lay on the beach. At least around here you're never more than five minutes away from something else to do. I much prefer heading over to the beach at night for a bit to chill out. I guess it can be relaxing for some during the day, but I'd get bored and then quickly graduate to agitated and anxious.
My idea of a vacation is going to a city. I'd much rather go to a place to experience a bit of culture (food), see sites (restaurants), and meet people (food vendors). Chicago was great, New York is cool for a day of fun, and Philadelphia is...easy to get to. I'd like to get to Baltimore, Boston, and Washington in the near future as well. I'd go to a city in the South but I'm afraid there may be a lot of Southerners there.
Maybe it comes from having lived down the road from the beach my entire life, but I cannot understand the allure of going somewhere where all there is to do is lay on the beach. At least around here you're never more than five minutes away from something else to do. I much prefer heading over to the beach at night for a bit to chill out. I guess it can be relaxing for some during the day, but I'd get bored and then quickly graduate to agitated and anxious.
My idea of a vacation is going to a city. I'd much rather go to a place to experience a bit of culture (food), see sites (restaurants), and meet people (food vendors). Chicago was great, New York is cool for a day of fun, and Philadelphia is...easy to get to. I'd like to get to Baltimore, Boston, and Washington in the near future as well. I'd go to a city in the South but I'm afraid there may be a lot of Southerners there.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Night Mare
Its about 5:30 in the morning and I'm awake because a horse came in the night.
Why is it called a nightmare? There are many words that you can derive meaning from simply by breaking it apart. Percent comes to mind. Nightmare seems unlikely to have anything to do with the sum of its parts. Sure they happen at night, but mine never involve a horse. Perhaps people used get attacked by their horses in the night while traveling. Or maybe before they were domesticated horses were a nocturnal creature that would wander the countryside dragging people out of bed to devour them. I guess I kinda feel like that. My nightmare was more a drama than a horror though.
That's the kind of nightmare that gets to me. Not the kind that involves vampires, serial killers or zombies, the kind that comes from your subconscious to kick you in the gut. It finds some emotion in you and slaps you across the face with a bit of realistic worst case scenario. You wake up scared, angry, confused. Then since you don't really want to say what the nightmare was about but still need to get it out of you somehow, you go online and write a blog about carnivorous horses using the word 'you' where you should actually be using the word 'I'.
Why is it called a nightmare? There are many words that you can derive meaning from simply by breaking it apart. Percent comes to mind. Nightmare seems unlikely to have anything to do with the sum of its parts. Sure they happen at night, but mine never involve a horse. Perhaps people used get attacked by their horses in the night while traveling. Or maybe before they were domesticated horses were a nocturnal creature that would wander the countryside dragging people out of bed to devour them. I guess I kinda feel like that. My nightmare was more a drama than a horror though.
That's the kind of nightmare that gets to me. Not the kind that involves vampires, serial killers or zombies, the kind that comes from your subconscious to kick you in the gut. It finds some emotion in you and slaps you across the face with a bit of realistic worst case scenario. You wake up scared, angry, confused. Then since you don't really want to say what the nightmare was about but still need to get it out of you somehow, you go online and write a blog about carnivorous horses using the word 'you' where you should actually be using the word 'I'.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Charlton Heston
Having decided to call it an early night, I arrived at home and learned of Charlton Heston's death.
Charlton Heston's most notable role, to me, was that of Moses in The Ten Commandments. ABC plays that movie every year around Passover and every year I make a point to at least watch most of it. I love that movie and it is mostly because of Heston's performance. Heston had an on-screen presence that was second to none. Any time that he appeared in a more recent movie, it was something special. Almost as if a piece of motion picture history was playing out any time a camera was on him.
He brought an element of stage acting to his roles that more modern actors never really attempt. He projected and articulated his lines like he was standing in a theater rather than on a set. That's why he was hands done the greatest person who ever played a minor Shakespeare character on screen (the Player King in Kenneth Branagh's amazing version of Hamlet). I even love the scene in Wayne's World 2 where he is brought it to replace a lackluster actor in a very small role.
I have to mention Ben Hur, Planet of the Apes, and Soylent Green as well. All are amazing movies in their own right...but they certainly would only have been footnotes in American popular culture if Heston had not immortalized them with his performances.
His use of his popularity to call attention to civil rights issues was also quite admirable. Any man who once marched along side Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. deserves all the respect in the world.
Friday, April 4, 2008
No Justice
I had to go in Thursday for jury duty and it was brief but disappointing. I didn't get picked to be on the jury.
I showed up at the courthouse at around 9:30 in the morning. I didn't bring in my cell phone because I can never seem to remember to turn it off when I have to. Plus I had to go through a metal detector, which I hate, so I tried to carry as few things as possible. A couple of guys from the sheriff's office were at the gate. One was trying as hard as possible to put across that he was a bad ass despite the fact that a light breeze probably would have sent him hurtling into the ionosphere. He was the one saying, "Empty your pockets," before motioning everyone through the detector with an unimpressed nod and a "come get some" hand wave. He seemed crushed that the hand-held detector failed to reveal any hidden weapons that would have turned his morning into something more dramatic.
The second officer was somewhat refreshing. He was younger; didn't seem at all emboldened by his badge and gun. Sitting behind a monitor, watching as bags were x-rayed, he could have been waiting to sell you a t-shirt or a pack of gum. This was obviously just his job and not the realization of any life-long, egomaniacal power fantasy.
The waiting room for the jurors wasn't bad, though I was too scared to try their coffee. My heart sank a bit when I saw a stack of board games in the corner. I sincerely hoped that I wouldn't be there so long that I'd resort to playing a board game with a group of strangers. We only had to wait about a half hour before being led through the halls like a kindergarten class into the brownest room imaginable. Everything was made of wood. The walls, floors, doors, benches, chairs, tables, gates, and barriers were all wood. The only things that didn't seem to be wooden were the asbestoses ceiling and American flag. The messiness of the court reporter's desk was the only other striking feature the place had to offer.
The proceedings were unspectacular. His Honor arrived so we all stood up, a wonderful custom bound to keep all judges humble. The jurors were welcomed and introduced to the plaintiff and defendant in what turned out to be a civil case. This was a bit of a surprise. So many of these cases end up decided in the People's Court and on Judge Joe Brown, that it had slipped my mind that these matters could involve a jury. The case was that of Some Dame V. Mercedes-Benz USA. The former was suing the latter under New Jersey's lemon law. Apparently her car reeked of citrus or something.
The court reporter called out seven names from the roughly 30 jurors who had been called in. The judge went on to ask them about their jobs, hobbies, and feelings about whether too many frivolous law suits are filed in this country (yes). All seven of these folks seemed to fit the bill as competent jurors so the rest of us were cut loose.
All in all, I don't feel like I got the full experience. Hopefully in the future I will be called upon again and this time I will be able to walk away having actually participated in the system. I sort of feel like I got left out in kickball, a slight feeling of rejection without it being a huge loss.
I showed up at the courthouse at around 9:30 in the morning. I didn't bring in my cell phone because I can never seem to remember to turn it off when I have to. Plus I had to go through a metal detector, which I hate, so I tried to carry as few things as possible. A couple of guys from the sheriff's office were at the gate. One was trying as hard as possible to put across that he was a bad ass despite the fact that a light breeze probably would have sent him hurtling into the ionosphere. He was the one saying, "Empty your pockets," before motioning everyone through the detector with an unimpressed nod and a "come get some" hand wave. He seemed crushed that the hand-held detector failed to reveal any hidden weapons that would have turned his morning into something more dramatic.
The second officer was somewhat refreshing. He was younger; didn't seem at all emboldened by his badge and gun. Sitting behind a monitor, watching as bags were x-rayed, he could have been waiting to sell you a t-shirt or a pack of gum. This was obviously just his job and not the realization of any life-long, egomaniacal power fantasy.
The waiting room for the jurors wasn't bad, though I was too scared to try their coffee. My heart sank a bit when I saw a stack of board games in the corner. I sincerely hoped that I wouldn't be there so long that I'd resort to playing a board game with a group of strangers. We only had to wait about a half hour before being led through the halls like a kindergarten class into the brownest room imaginable. Everything was made of wood. The walls, floors, doors, benches, chairs, tables, gates, and barriers were all wood. The only things that didn't seem to be wooden were the asbestoses ceiling and American flag. The messiness of the court reporter's desk was the only other striking feature the place had to offer.
The proceedings were unspectacular. His Honor arrived so we all stood up, a wonderful custom bound to keep all judges humble. The jurors were welcomed and introduced to the plaintiff and defendant in what turned out to be a civil case. This was a bit of a surprise. So many of these cases end up decided in the People's Court and on Judge Joe Brown, that it had slipped my mind that these matters could involve a jury. The case was that of Some Dame V. Mercedes-Benz USA. The former was suing the latter under New Jersey's lemon law. Apparently her car reeked of citrus or something.
The court reporter called out seven names from the roughly 30 jurors who had been called in. The judge went on to ask them about their jobs, hobbies, and feelings about whether too many frivolous law suits are filed in this country (yes). All seven of these folks seemed to fit the bill as competent jurors so the rest of us were cut loose.
All in all, I don't feel like I got the full experience. Hopefully in the future I will be called upon again and this time I will be able to walk away having actually participated in the system. I sort of feel like I got left out in kickball, a slight feeling of rejection without it being a huge loss.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Iron Man
At first I was going to write one big entry about superhero/comic book movies but when I realized how much I'd end up saying and how long that would take to type I decided to cover them individually.
It seems safe to say that this movie looks awesome. Robert Downey Jr. was a stroke of genius to play Tony Stark. Ever since I first heard of this development I've been much more excited than I ever thought I could for an Iron Man flick. The only thing that I'm hesitant about is the fact that it is being made by the director of Zathura and Elf. I often wonder what makes a Hollywood executive look at a resume and say, "This is a guy I will trust with a few dozen million dollars." Don't get me wrong, I like Jon Favreau as an actor. Swingers is priceless and for some reason I really like PCU. It's just that playing Foggy Nelson in Daredevil doesn't qualify you to direct a Marvel movie. Call me cautiously optimistic.
I also hope that this movie treats Iron Man better than the comics industry has in recent memory. He hasn't had a single adventure in his own book that is worth mentioning for longer than I'm qualified to say. More often than not, sub par creative duos are assigned to the book with predictably mediocre and forgettable results. Even when someone outstanding such as Warren Ellis is given writing chores, it seems as though they are calling it in and it never holds a candle to their stronger work. His best recent story by far has been in the pages of Millar and Hitch's Ultimates. He's also been done some justice in the Avengers books. He was even pretty bad ass in the whole Civil War storyline, despite being the pseudo-villain.
His cartoon was also quite enjoyable.
Not that one. The 90's one. Mostly because it had a great cast of supporting heroes. And yes, the vast majority of his villains are hopelessly lame.
It seems safe to say that this movie looks awesome. Robert Downey Jr. was a stroke of genius to play Tony Stark. Ever since I first heard of this development I've been much more excited than I ever thought I could for an Iron Man flick. The only thing that I'm hesitant about is the fact that it is being made by the director of Zathura and Elf. I often wonder what makes a Hollywood executive look at a resume and say, "This is a guy I will trust with a few dozen million dollars." Don't get me wrong, I like Jon Favreau as an actor. Swingers is priceless and for some reason I really like PCU. It's just that playing Foggy Nelson in Daredevil doesn't qualify you to direct a Marvel movie. Call me cautiously optimistic.
I also hope that this movie treats Iron Man better than the comics industry has in recent memory. He hasn't had a single adventure in his own book that is worth mentioning for longer than I'm qualified to say. More often than not, sub par creative duos are assigned to the book with predictably mediocre and forgettable results. Even when someone outstanding such as Warren Ellis is given writing chores, it seems as though they are calling it in and it never holds a candle to their stronger work. His best recent story by far has been in the pages of Millar and Hitch's Ultimates. He's also been done some justice in the Avengers books. He was even pretty bad ass in the whole Civil War storyline, despite being the pseudo-villain.
His cartoon was also quite enjoyable.
Not that one. The 90's one. Mostly because it had a great cast of supporting heroes. And yes, the vast majority of his villains are hopelessly lame.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Civic Duty
So this week is when I'm supposed to be serving my jury duty. I got the notice about a month ago and there was some confusion in the house because my father and I have the same name, save for our middle names. Of course they do not put a middle initial on the notice so we had to sort it out. I won...or lost, depending on how you look at it.
Personally I looked at it like I had won. Everyone tells me that it is the most boring thing ever, but I see it as an experience none the less. I actually think that it would be pretty cool to sit on a jury. Not that I've ever heard anything good about it, it just seems like the best possible situation in which to observe the justice system.
The one thing that is bothering me is that I haven't gone in yet. I called Friday and apparently jurors in my group weren't to show up Monday. I called Monday and my number was not one of the ones going in Tuesday. Called tonight and I have to call at noon tomorrow for instructions regarding the afternoon session at 1:30 PM. So do I have to go in, just not in the morning? Do I not have to go? Maybe I have to go Thursday? I haven't the foggiest. The whole 'call in for your fate' structure sucks.
I also don't know what it means to wear clothes that are fit to wear before the court. I'm thinking puffy shirt and powdered wig.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
